Council of Representatives of Iraq

Council of Representatives of Iraq

logo	Parliament building in Baghdad
Basic data
Seat:	Baghdad
Legislative period :	4 years
First session:	March 6, 2006
MPs:	329 (since 2018)
Current legislative period
Last choice:	May 12, 2018
Chair:	Mohamed al-Halbousi
Website
www.parliament.iq

The Council of Representatives of Iraq ( Arabic مجلس النواب العراقي, DMG Majlis an-Nuwwāb al-ʿIrāqī , Kurdish ئه‌نجومه‌نی نوێنه‌رانی عێراق Encumena Nûnerên Êraq ) is the parliament of the Republic of Iraq with its seat in the green zone in Baghdad . It is elected by the people of the country through the election of parties and party lists. The number of members is currently 328. Due to the lack of threshold clauses, direct election of candidates is also possible. 53 independents currently sit in parliament.

According to the Iraqi constitution , a bicameral system is envisaged; in addition to the Council of Representatives, a Federal Council , which is made up of representatives of the governorates , is to form the country's legislature. However, the tasks of the Federal Council are not clearly defined, which is why there is currently a de facto unicameral system .

history

An elected parliament met for the first time in 1925. The lower house, the so-called Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwwab) was directly elected, while the upper house was appointed by the king. Ten parliamentary elections were held between 1925 and the fall of the monarchy in 1958. After the fall of the monarchy, parliament was dissolved and the legislature was handed over to the Council of Ministers.

With the constitution of 1970, the Ba'ath regime reintroduced parliament as the so-called national assembly. However, the first electoral law was only passed ten years later. In the first parliamentary elections on June 20, 1980, 250 people could finally be elected (30 of them Kurds from northern Iraqi constituencies), whereby only the unified list of the National Progressive Front with previously selected candidates was eligible. Apart from the Baʿth party , the bloc parties in coalition with it and selected "independents", no other parties or persons were allowed. Parliament remained powerless because the decision-making power remained with the revolutionary command council and thus ultimately with Saddam Hussein . The last election before the fall of Saddam Hussein was held in 2000.

In March 2004 a government council was appointed by the coalition interim administration to draw up an interim constitution and prepare the next elections. The first free elections finally took place on January 30, 2005, and a transitional parliament was elected to draw up a constitution for the country. After the constitution was adopted, elections were held again in December of the same year, this time the members were elected for four years. According to the Iraqi constitution, 25% of the seats should be reserved for women, making it the highest percentage of women in parliament in the Middle East. However, this quota was abolished after the 2010 parliamentary elections. This is contradicted by two current information sheets on the 2014 elections, according to which this quota regulation was retained.

On April 12, 2007, a suicide attack was carried out in the parliament canteen, in which the MP Mohammed Awad was killed and other MPs were injured. The last election took place on April 30, 2014.

Chamber in Baghdad

In 2017 parliament unanimously banned "Zionist symbols" such as the Israeli flag.

elections

The Council of Representatives should consist of a number of members, in a ratio of one member per 100,000 Iraqis. They should be elected in a direct, secret and general election. Candidates must be fully eligible Iraqis. An electoral law should lay down the provisions for candidates and voters and aim for at least 25% women in the Council of Representatives. No member may exercise any other official position or work. The members of the Council of Representatives are elected for 4 calendar years.

Functions and tasks

By means of a presidential law, the President calls on the Council of Representatives to meet within 15 days of the ratification of the official election results. The oldest member should preside over the first meeting after the election. The President of the Council and his two deputies should do this within max. 15 days can be chosen. This election is direct and secret and requires an absolute majority.

The Council's quorum should be met with an absolute majority. Decisions in the Council meetings require a simple majority after the quorum has been met, unless otherwise agreed. Bills should be submitted to the Council by the President or the Prime Minister or by 10 members of the Council of Representatives or by a member of one of their special committees.

The council passes laws, elects the president, appoints ambassadors and the chief of staff of the Iraqi army. He can also dismiss the President after the Supreme Court has convicted him on at least one of 3 points. The council can withdraw its confidence in the prime minister with an absolute majority after a request of at least 20% of the deputies or at the request of the state president. The government is hereby regarded as abdicated. The council must approve a declaration of war and a state of emergency by a two-thirds majority, based on a request by the President and Prime Minister.

Web links

• Official website of the Parliament (Arabic)
• Final version of the Iraqi constitution . UNESCO (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Leibholz, Gerhard (Ed.): Yearbook of the public law of the present. New series , p. 568 ISBN 978-3-16-641292-4 ( online )
2. ↑ Fürtig, Henner: Little History of Iraq: from its founding in 1921 to the present , p. 103, CH Beck ISBN 978-3-406-49464-2
3. ^ Deutsche Welle: Off for women's quota in Iraq's parliament , March 4, 2010.
4. ↑ IFES: FAQ on Iraqi elections 2014 ( Memento of the original from May 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 
5. ↑ UNIEAP: Leaflet on the election of the Council of Representatives 2014
6. ↑ Der Spiegel: Bomb attack in the Iraqi parliament , April 12, 2007.
7. ↑ https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/iraqi-parliament-criminalizes-display-zionist-symbols-across-country
8. ^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 47
9. ^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 54
10. ^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 53
11. ^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 57
12. ^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 58